The tale of a 30-something Mummy, two children and several bottles of wine...

Saturday, 28 April 2012

A Tale of Rainy School Runs

This week has been one of the wettest weeks I can remember. Obviously living in England we are used to rain, but it has been incessant this week - bit ironic really considering this is supposed to be a drought. And the constant rain presents its own special challenges - notably the school run. Jedi Boy's school is nearly two miles away. We usually walk the first mile to the bus stop near the station and then catch a bus up the hill. On a non-working day, the Little Princess sits in the buggy and shouts at me that she wants to get out and walk, while Jedi Boy runs down the road fighting invisible battle droids with his imaginery lightsabre or clutching his wrist and 'transforming' into one of Ben 10's aliens. Believe me, I get a lot of funny looks as he charges off shouting 'Ultimate Spider Monkey' at the top of his voice.

With the rain pouring down, and no way of carrying an umbrella while pushing the buggy and trying to get Jedi Boy to suspend his boundless imagination for a few seconds to concentrate on the mundane act of crossing the road, I have spent much of this week with water dripping off my fringe and soaking wet jeans. By Wednesday I had resorted to spotty wellies and a mac with a hood (sometimes you just have to compromise on style), and by Friday I had invested in a new umbrella for the days I don't have to take the buggy. Somehow, though, Jedi Boy seems oblivious to the rain - he is quite happy to stop and study a puddle to determine whether or not it looks like a spaceship or some discarded alien slime, or balance precariously on a mud-splattered wall, and that just means I end up getting even wetter.

It is all worth it though - even if there are days where the school run just feels like too much effort - most of the time I love spending that time with my little boy... hearing the stories that he tells about life in Reception, listening to his lengthy explanations of what he dreamed about the night before, laughing when he gets so distracted by his games that he runs into a tree - just being together is what makes it all worthwhile.